Call for Left-secular unity to fight BJP

The 23rd Party Congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI) got off to a rousing start here on Thursday with major Left leaders calling for a united fight, pivoted on Left and secular unity, to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party from power.

Citing the many instances of the Narendra Modi government's aggressive attacks on the country's secular and democratic fabric in the course of their addresses at the opening session of the Party Congress, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, his CPI counterpart S. Sudhakar Reddy and leaders of the RSP, Forward Bloc and the CPI(ML) Liberation pointed out that the time had come for all the Left and secular forces, including the Congress, to come together to fight the 'communal and divisive' agenda of the RSS-BJP combine.

The opening session also received with much cheer Mr. Yechury and Mr. Reddy underscoring the need for Left and Communist unity as a necessary goal in the fight to preserve the rights of the working people. “The Left needs more unity than in the past. We need to strengthen our party, our mass organisations, and unleash militant struggles on people’s issues. Our theoretical understanding of Marxism-Leninism should be our guide,” Mr. Reddy said, and added, “The BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Narendra Modi have damaged all the values of the nation, including secularism and democracy. Federalism [has been] thrown to the winds and States are [being] made to beg before the Centre.”

‘‘’Secularism is the biggest target of the Hindutva forces. Systematic hatred is developed and innocent people were butchered,’’ he added.”

Addressing the delegates, Mr. Yechury said the Left alone could give a policy alternative while at the same time strengthening the unity of the country’s vast plurality, forging the bonds of struggle amongst the Indian people, ‘‘against the NDA government’s policies against our people.”